One of the basic diagnostic methods of determining the health conditions of a patient is the imaging of affected areas of the patient's body, regardless of whether the patient is complaining of a symptom or whether a medical anamoly was found based on testing for an unrelated condition. The type of imaging most properly utilized for an initial objective determination is usually dictated by the nature of the organ or part of the body exhibiting a specific condition (or which is being tested for determining if a condition exists), or the actual condition which is suspected.
Imaging devices (the term “imaging” as used herein includes optical, aural and any other sensory recordable state of an object or patient) include those devices that permit visual inspection of a site or cavity directly or by use of a lens system for optical enhancement, and devices which permit visual inspection of a site through analog or digital displays or the analysis of images resulting from the use of ultrasound waves (sonograms), magnetic resonance (MRI), computerized tomography (CT scans), nuclear medicine, x-rays or other imaging technology. Existing specific tools or devices used for imaging include laparoscopes, MRI and ultrasonogram devices, as well as hysteroscopes, arthroscopes, esophagoscopes, bronchoscopes, rectoscopes, laryngoscopes, otoscopes, ophthalmoscopes, colposcopes, microscopes, computed radiography, x-ray imaging, computed tomography, mammography, angiography, gamma camera and nuclear medicine instruments, boreoscopes (used for internal analysis of machinery) and the like, which are all well known diagnostic tools in the art.
Currently, imaging systems come in many configurations, with different probes and many types of accessories. For some imaging systems, such as ultrasound, the quality of the image depends on the person performing the scanning, since in that case the scanning is not performed by the system itself, as in the case of a CT scan or MRI. The potential user, however, usually has no indication as to the quality of images to be attained when scanning with any particular configuration, and many professionals know very little about the diagnostic equipment that they utilize. This situation is exacerbated by vendors who agressively market diagnostic equipment without providing the basics as to what standard can be achieved by a particular diagnostic system in terms of the image of a normal organ. Vendors of new, inexpensive, portable scanning systems witness increased sales to medical practitioners who have very limited experience in scanning. These professionals need to learn how to achieve the best possible images (referred to in the art as “gold standard” images) obtainable from their equipment.
For example, a user may have a good representative sonogram in mind of an ovary based on an image in a book where the authors used X and Y equipment, or from a conference where a lecturer showed images made with Z and W equipment, or from a hands-on course using Q and V equipment. A user, however, may have or be considering buying W equipment and may not have any reference for the best achievable image of an organ with that equipment, before even looking for pathologies. Even in clinics where gold standard imaging is the norm, the situation changes abruptly after regular hours, during nights and weekends when the most experienced staff members are no longer seeing patients.
Thus, there is a need for a system that can automatically help professionals who are inexperienced with a particular imaging device learn how to achieve gold standard levels of imaging in the absence of experienced professionals.